A Sino-German project was launched yesterday in Beijing to train more than 1,000 Chinese energy managers over three years.

The European Energy Manager project, jointly sponsored by the State Administration of Foreign Experts Affairs (SAFEA) and the Nuremberg Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK Nuremberg), aims to introduce Germany's energy management expertise into China, training energy leaders in local companies and governments.

"We hope that the cooperation project will introduce Germany's advanced knowledge and technical standards of energy management into China," SAFEA director Ji Yunshi said.

"We are expecting the project will produce a number of globally leading energy managers, who can devote themselves to promoting energy saving and environmental protection in China."

The project will train 200 Chinese personnel this year and 300 to 400 next year, he said. A further 500 managers will be trained in 2010.

The five-week training courses will include two weeks of classroom study in China and a three-week practical training session with German firms, Ji said.

Trainees could also receive a European energy manager certificate if their final theses on energy saving pass the panel's appraisal, he said.

Robert Schmidt, the chief representative from IHK Nuremberg, said that he hopes the "concept of promoting energy efficiency will be introduced into every company and organization throughout the world to achieve sustainable economic and biological development".

Germany is one of the world's most efficient users of energy: Its energy consumption per unit of GDP is one-fifth of China's, Schmidt said.

As the world's fastest growing major economy, China has set a target to cut its energy consumption per unit of GDP by 20 percent over the 2006-10 period.

It also aims to reduce pollutant discharges by 10 percent over the same timescale.

(China Daily April 1, 23008)